The Boy From Viridian Forest
by Jolly Jeff
Summary: Nathan, who lives in Viridian Forest with his Pokemon, meets Yokiro, who is obssessed with computers, and they try to stop a plan by Giovanni to chop down the Forest.
1. Chapter One

The Boy from Viridian  
  
Nathan ran through the trees. He leaped off of a branch and landed on another tree-branch far below. He caught onto the branch and swung until he was standing on his hands. He held the position for a second, then let go and caught onto the branch his feet.  
"Bulbasaur!" called Nathan's Bulbasaur. It dropped down to the branch where Nathan was. Then it swung away on its vines, chasing after Treecko, who had also ran through this part of the forest.  
Nathan was born in Viridian Forest. He lived off of the berries there. His first Pokemon was a Bulbasaur, and then he got a Treecko. His parents had been living in the Forest for a while. When he was nine, they went on vacation to see the ghost Pokemon. They hadn't come back. The ghosts had welcomed them, and now they were ghost as well. They visited Nathan occasionally and he visited them.  
Nathan went into town if he needed to buy something. He challenged trainers to battles for money so he could pay for supplies. He made sure he had enough money to pay if he lost, though. He once paid a trainer to fly him on his Pidgeotto to Celadon City so he could buy something from the department store. He had very little real clothing; most of it was made of leaves, softened wood, bark, and other plant products such as sap. That's why his clothes smelled sweet. He blended right in with the forest, and was perfectly at home there. He could swing from the trees like any Mankey and had befriended one abroad. He had brought it back to live with him in Viridian Forest. Notice I say befriended. He did not capture any Pokemon. He got them by making friends and they joined him. If you are familiar with the cartoon, this happened between Ash and a Haunter.  
Nathan never used Pokeballs, or a Pokedex. He didn't use anything high-tech. His Pokemon traveled with him everywhere he went. He had only a few, the Mankey, Treecko, Bulbasaur, and he had also befriended a Pikachu. The Pikachu did not travel with him; it stayed in the forest. But if they passed each other they would greet each other. Nathan usually didn't use his Pokemon to fight, only when it was necessary. He had once beaten a Gym Leader, Misty, in Cerulean City. That was because he needed more money, and that was the quickest way. He could make his own clothes of leaves and wood, so sometimes he sold them to travelers as souvenirs of their visit to Viridian Forest. He wasn't exactly rich, and had he needed to depend on his money for food and everything else, he wouldn't have been able to.  
But he lived off of the forest, and that was enough for him. He was swinging through the trees when he saw a traveler walking on the path.  
The traveler looked up and saw Nathan in the tree. He gasped. Nathan looked behind and around him. There was nothing there.  
"What's wrong?" he asked the traveler. He was carrying a black case and a belt with Pokeballs clipped on to it.  
The traveler replied, "How did you get stuck in the tree? Can I help?"  
"Stuck?" Nathan replied, laughing. He jumped down from the tree. The boy's eyes opened wide and he stared. Nathan landed crouching; then stood up.  
"I live in the forest! I'm used to trees! I can climb probably better than anyone," said Nathan.  
"Oh," said the boy. "I'm Yokiro Hydawashi." I invented that name on the spot. Probably isn't a real Japanese name. The boy held out his hand. Nathan shook it.  
"I'm Nathan," said Nathan. "I don't have a last name. I was born and raised in the forest." The boy looked confused.  
"By the Pokemon?" he asked. Nathan laughed.  
"No. By my parents. They aren't here anymore. They went to live- -although you can't really call it living--with the ghost Pokemon," said Nathan. By now you might be getting the impression that he was a wild and uncivilized person. Not so. He ate with wooden chopsticks or fork and knife. He has regular clothes, which he wears when he goes into town. Sometimes, he went to other cities and towns besides Viridian and Pewter, like when he beat Misty at Cerulean.  
His parents were just adventurous people who didn't like the city life. They moved to Viridian to battle trainers who passed and capture more Pokemon. They liked living in the trees and running on the branches. They eventually became very athletic, and Nathan inherited that. They taught him to speak, and he had acquired a very large vocabulary. He did not have any kind of strange accent. He had been taught much about the outside world, and if he bought a few Potions and Pokeballs, he could fit in perfectly.  
"Is that a laptop computer you've got there?" asked Nathan. Yokiro, who looked about ten or eleven (Nathan was 12) years old, nodded and pulled the sleek, black computer out of the case. He opened it and typed a few keys. The computer booted up and he typed some more keys. He turned to Nathan.  
"Can you read?" he asked. Nathan nodded. Yokiro turned the computer around to face it at Nathan. Onscreen was information on Viridian Forest. Nathan read it. He nodded slightly and stood back to show he was done. Yokiro suddenly looked serious.  
"Have you heard of Team Rocket?" he asked Nathan. Nathan nodded.  
"They're Pokemon thieves. They are trying to capture a certain Pikachu in particular. It belongs to a boy named Ash. His traveling companions are Brock and Misty. Team Rocket members Jesse and James are constantly developing plots with their talking Pokemon Meowth. They are also constantly running into Ash and his friends, who are again constantly foiling their plans. Any questions?" Nathan asked.  
"Not really," said Yokiro, taken aback by Nathan's knowledge of Team Rocket. "How did you know all of that?" he asked. Nathan grinned.  
"When I saw Ash and Company passing through the forest, I heard them talking. I decided to track down this 'Team Rocket' and fight them, although usually I don't battle with my Pokemon. I dressed in normal clothes and followed them, knowing that Team Rocket would probably try to find them to steal their Pikachu. I learned much about Ash and Co. while following them. I'd make a good spy," he added.  
"After two weeks," continued Nathan, "I got lucky. Team Rocket made their appearance. I watched from a distance as one of Meowth's ingenious but fatally flawed machines tried to capture Pikachu. When they were defeated, I told a Pidgey to follow them for a week and meet me at a certain spot in exchange for a week's supply of Pokemon food from Brock. Yes, I can speak Pokemon language. I followed Ash and Co. for a while longer, learning many of their secrets, for two reasons. One was that I could use the secrets about Team Rocket to my advantage. The second reason is that I'm nosy. Although I'd prefer the word curious.  
"After a week, I confronted Brock and said that I had heard about his cooking ability. I asked him if he would give me some Pokemon food for one of my Pokemon, and we worked out a price. Then I went to the rendezvous spot where I was to meet Pidgey. I asked him where Team Rocket was and soon caught up to them. I gave the Pokemon food to Pidgey like I had promised and challenged Jesse and James to a battle. One against three. They had no chance.  
"Wait!" interrupted Yokiro. "Which Pokemon did they use? And what three did you use?" he inquired. Nathan shook his head and smiled.  
"They used Arbok, Weezing, and Meowth. I used Bulbasaur." Yokiro looked bewildered.  
"Continue," he requested. Nathan was happy to comply.  
"One of Bulbasaur's best attacks is Razor Leaf. He dodged a Poison Sting from Arbok and used Razor Leaf on him. Weezing was off guard, so although the Razor Leaf missed Arbok as intended, it hit Weezing. Weezing got mad and used Smoke Screen. Meowth screamed at him, but Jesse and James were pleased. They started running away, but I told Bulbasaur to use Vine Whip to pull them back. Then Meowth started to run away. One Razor Leaf from Bulbasaur and he was out. Or so it seemed," added Nathan.  
"He was faking. I had thought so, but ignored it. Arbok used Poison Sting, but because of the Smoke Screen, he missed and hit Jesse. It was becoming a battle not only between Pokemon, but also between trainers. Jesse got very mad and threw a rock at Arbok. He looked kind of confused, but then Bulbasaur hit him with a Razor Leaf. He was on the verge of fainting, but managed to compose himself a bit and turn to face Bulbasaur. So I shouted at Bulbasaur to finish Arbok off with a Solar Beam. HE did, and Arbok fainted. By now, the Smoke Screen had cleared. Bulbasaur suddenly fell to the ground.  
"Meowth was standing behind him, grinning. I gritted my teeth and stared at him, but I knew if I went any closer, I'd be Scratched. So I just stared at him. Then, I turned and ran. Meowth gave chase. I climbed quickly onto the roof of a building and ran. Meowth was running after me. I jumped off of the roof, but at the last second, I caught onto the edge of the building. Meowth ran right past me off the edge. He shouted something, and I climbed back onto the roof.  
"Meanwhile, Bulbasaur had recovered and was fighting Weezing. He was delivering devastating blows from his vines. He kept on hitting, searching for weak spots. He kept on hitting in the same spot at first, and then thwacked Weezing in every place imaginable. Weezing was about to faint. Then I remembered about Meowth. I turned around just in time for a Scratch in the face. I grabbed the little creature and threw him off of the roof again. I shouted for Bulbasaur to come up to the rooftop. It wasn't very high. He ran over and shot up his vines. I grabbed them and pulled him up.  
"Meowth was climbing up again. I lay down on the roof and moved to the edge of the roof where Meowth was coming from so he couldn't see me. I signaled to Bulbasaur to do the same. I told him to use Razor Leaf when Meowth came up. Meowth climbed up and looked around.  
'Hey? Whah is evoweone?' said Meowth.  
"I shouted 'Now!' to Bulbasaur and Meowth looked down. Too late. Bulbasaur used Razor Leaf and Meowth went flying off of the roof again. This time, I clambered down after him. I looked at him, and he was definitely knocked out. I was sorely tempted to buy a Pokeball, stick him in it, and bury it or drop it into the deepest part of the ocean. But I didn't. I just picked him up and dragged him back to the other side of the building, where I saw James clambering after Jesse into their Meowth-shaped balloon. They started it up. Their Pokemon were back in the Pokeballs.  
"I shouted up to them that they were forgetting something. I held up Meowth. Suddenly, a blue Pokemon came out of a Pokeball and shouted, 'Woooooo-buffet!' Jesse bopped it on the head and returned it to its Pokeball. Then she looked down at Meowth. She shrugged and turned around. I looked down at Meowth, who was beginning to stir. I dropped him on the ground and shrugged like Jesse. Then, I commanded Bulbasaur to Razor Leaf the balloon. He cut a huge hole out of the side and the balloon went straight down. Team Rocket went flying upward when it landed and shouted something about blasting off again," Nathan finished. He took a deep breath and let it out again.  
"Whoa," said Yokiro. He had nothing else to say. He paused. After a few minutes, he started to talk.  
"That's really interesting and all, but Team Rocket. . .well, their leader, Giovanni, wants to cut down Viridian Forest to make his new base. He's doing all he can to get government permission. Obviously, he'll do it anyway, but. . ." Yokiro's voice trailed off. Nathan was shocked.  
"How do you know about this?" he asked. "I mean, he didn't tell you!"  
"No, he didn't tell me," said Yokiro. "I hacked into his computer via the Internet. I'm pretty good with computers."  
"Good!" said Nathan. "You can teach me how to use one! I mean, I know some stuff, but not much. But seriously, what'll we do about the Forest?" asked Nathan. Yokiro shrugged.  
"I suppose we'll have to wait until I can get more information," he said. "I can try to break into his current base and attack, but that won't do any good. I need police help. And of course, if I ask them for help, I'll have to tell them how I got the information. Hacking's illegal, you know." Nathan was outraged.  
"But he's a bad person! Who cares if you hack into a criminal's computer? He deserved it! I mean--" Nathan couldn't think of how to express his feelings.  
"I know," sighed Yokiro, "but everyone has their rights. The police aren't going to listen to reason. The law is the law, and that's that. No way to change it. I suppose I could round up a few friends and we could raid the place. That would be fun. Not that this is about fun. . ." Suddenly, Nathan had an idea.  
"Hold on!" he shouted excitedly. "The Pokemon! From the Forest! They'd be willing to save the Forest! I can round up a whole army of Caterpies, Metapods, Butterfries, Weedles, maybe even some Pikachu! Which reminds me. . .Pikachu! We could use a Pikachu from the Forest as bait! Giovanni comes out to look, a bunch of Pokemon ambush and knock him out, and while that's all happening, other Pokemon are breaking into the other end of the building! Do you think it'll work?" he asked. Yokiro burst out laughing.  
"He might [gasping for breath] notice the Pikachu isn't the one he's searching for. I don't know how we'd break in in the first place. And what would we do once we got in anyway? I don't know. . ." he trailed off. He looked back down at the computer and started typing. A half-hour later, he said, "That's that! I disabled his security systems and installed a virus that in eight days will e-mail every bit of data on his hard drive to a so-far nonexistent e-mail address before deleting all information and shutting down the computer." Nathan's head was spinning. "What?" he asked. "A so-far nonexistent e-mail address? What are you talking about?" Yokiro chuckled. "Let's put it this way: I don't want him tracking my e- mail address, so I'm creating a new one under a false name and age. The virus will end the information to this address and then delete it from Giovanni's computer. I will download the e-mail onto my computer and then terminate--that is, delete--the e-mail address." "I know what terminate means!" snapped Nathan. Yokiro shrugged. "By the way, I have three computers. Two desktops, and one laptop. My desktops are at home. Not that I'm ever there, training my Pokemon, trying to become a better trainer, out to see the world, yada-yada-yada. . .but I use them for memory. I bought a whole bunch of extra memory and hooked it up to them, so I can have a lot of stored information. See, a laptop doesn't have as much memory as a desktop computer, so I can just download the stuff on the laptop. Get it?" Nathan nodded. "Now, if I could get some web cams or something and hide them there hooked up to his computer, now *that* would be cool. His computer would send them to mine, voila, I know *everything* that goes on in there. . ." "If only we had a Ditto or something," Nathan mused. "It could change into Giovanni and install them. No one would think anything of it, because it was their boss. Hey, why not! Let's go catch a Ditto!" Yokiro looked skeptic. "I don't know. . .where would we find one, anyway? And I don't have many Pokemon. Just two. Electrode and Pikachu. I'm rather fond of electric- types. I waste less money on batteries. And considering how much time I spend using my computer, that's quite a lot of money saved. . ." Suddenly, a timid little Pikachu peeked out from behind Yokiro's legs. Nathan laughed. "Hello, little guy! Don't be afraid," said Nathan. Pikachu smiled and stepped out from behind Yokiro. Yokiro looked amazed. "This is Battery. He doesn't take a liking to many trainers. In fact, usually he's inside my backpack using my computer--" Nathan burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. "The Pikachu can use a computer?" he gasped. He collapsed to the ground, chuckling his head off. Battery looked bemused. "Yes, 'the Pikachu' can use a computer," said Yokiro crossly, "Better than you can, at any rate. Like I was saying, he's usually either in my backpack using the computer, or sitting behind me looking grumpy and wishing he *was* in my backpack using my computer. He's kind of shy, so that's why I was kind of bewildered that he came out from behind my legs. He's actually pretty powerful, if you give him the chance." Suddenly, out of a Pokeball on Yokiro's waist came an Electrode. It looked around, then promptly exploded, throwing Nathan backwards into a tree 50 feet away. He slowly stood up, groaning. He rubbed his head and sank back, leaning on the tree. He looked forward to see Yokiro standing in the exact spot he had been standing in before the explosion. He was completely blackened. His eyes were closed. He opened them and shook his head. "This happens all the time," he called to Nathan. "He loves exploding. Unfortunately, he's discovered the secret to Self-destructing and then coming back a few seconds later. I know it sounds impossible, but. . .NO! STOP IT, MEMORY CARD!" He fumbled for his Pokeball, muttering to himself. He quickly returned the Electrode and held the Pokeball closed tightly. Satisfied, he put the Pokeball back on his waist. Nathan walked back to the path where Yokiro was standing. "Memory Card?" said Nathan, raising his eyebrows. He could never figure out how to raise one at a time. Yokiro shrugged. "You got a problem with that?" he asked, making a point of raising one eyebrow, which greatly infuriated Nathan. "You really are obsessed," he muttered. "So?" said Yokiro, raising the other eyebrow. "You got a problem with that?" he repeated. "No. . ." muttered Nathan. (See, that's the difference between real life and Pokemon FanFics by Jolly Jeff (me): In real life, someone would've said "yes" to "you got a problem with that". Just so you know. . .) "So what about the Ditto?" asked Nathan. "What about it?" said Yokiro, raising a third eyebrow (I mean, the first one). "Do you know where to get one? And do you have the time? I have to meet Brock at his Gym in ten minutes. Battle! He won last time. All because Memory Card insisted on--" There was a muffled explosion from inside Memory Card's Pokeball. "--doing that," said Yokiro. "Plus, I don't know much about Pokemon. Computers are what I live for." Ah, Yokiro sometimes reminds me of. . .well. . .me! "You can catch yourself a Ditto. Meet me tomorrow at--let's say--four. If you don't have your Ditto, it's back to the distracting and breaking in plan. What do you say?" Nathan shrugged. "Fine with me. Where should we meet?" "I'll say. . .uh. . .how about Viridian City Pokemon Center?" suggested Yokiro. "Sounds good!" confirmed Nathan. He turned around and climbed up a tree. He ran through the branches, screaming like a wild man. He leaped off of a tree far away from Yokiro, and seemed to hover in the air for a second. Then, he dropped straight down and caught onto a branch. He swung around it a few times, then let go and landed on another tree and climbed up the trunk. Yokiro watched for a while longer, then shook his head and walked away. "Tomorrow, we'll break into Giovanni's place," he muttered to Battery. "For now, let's go cream Brock!" And he did cream Brock. But that's another story. Maybe I'll put it in next chapter. . .you'll just have to wait and see!  
  
Disclaimer: I know these are supposed to go in the beginning of the story. I don't care that these are supposed to go in the beginning of the story. I am ignoring the fact that these are supposed to go in the beginning of the story. Never mind. Anyway, you probably know this already, but just in case you don't, I don't own Brock, Team Rocket, Meowth, Giovanni, or Viridian Forest. I do own Nathan, Yokiro, and the plot of the story. If there's anything I forgot, too bad. Use your common sense. Anyway, you can use my characters in your stories, as long as you make a big, wide, Author's Note or something telling the world that they are MY characters, not yours, and provide a link or something that tells where to find this story. By the way, I hopefully don't have to put one of these Disclaimer thingies in all of the chapters. Only if I invent some new character will I use one to tell everyone that it's MINE! Oh dear, this note is way too long. . . 


	2. Chapter Two

The Boy From Viridian Forest Chapter Two  
  
"Thundershock!" shouted Yokiro. Battery used Thundershock on Geodude.  
"Ha!" laughed Brock. "Electric attacks have no effect on Rock Pokemon!" Boy, was he wrong. Battery was so powerful that he fried Geodude. It took 50-something seconds, but Geodude ended up as black as coal. He fainted.  
"Geodude is unable to fight!" cried the announcer. "Pikachu is the winner!" But Battery was tired too. He sat down on the floor, his eyes closing. He rocked back and forth. Yokiro gritted his teeth and thought, hang in there, Battery! You can make it. But Battery fell down onto the floor without even a thud.  
"In a spectacular display of the almost impossible," continued the announcer, "This Pikachu has defeated a strong Rock-type Pokemon with one Thundershock! As you know, Electric attacks will usually have no effect on Rock-types. Rock does not conduct electricity. But if you have a powerful enough Pokemon, the electricity can be powerful enough to fry a Rock Pokemon. Unfortunately for both Pokemon and Trainer, though, doing this can exhaust the Pokemon to the point of fainting. What Pokemon will our challenger use next?" Yokiro returned Battery and took out Memory Card.  
"Memory Card, don't Selfdestruct! Even if you can revive yourself quickly, it'll be too late! Use something else. I'll just watch unless I can think of something for you to use."  
Memory Card said, "Electrode!" Yokiro assumed, or rather, hoped, that that meant, "okay". The battle went on for a while and Memory Card was winning nicely. Then he got bored. Yokiro knew he was about to use Selfdestruct.  
"No!" he shouted. "I said, DON'T USE SELFDESTRUCT!" Too late. Memory Card exploded. Geodude collapsed, tried to stand up, and fainted. Brock returned him and used Onix.  
"Geodude is unable to battle! So is Electrode! And those are all the Pokemon our challenger has! Pikachu and Electrode! It looks like Brock has won, because he still has Onix! But wait. . .Electrode is getting up! Can it be? He has awakened quickly! The battle continues!"  
Meanwhile, inside his Pokeball, Battery was waking up too. He sat up and groaned. Then he remembered he was in a battle with Brock! If Memory Card had Selfdestructed, then the battle would be lost! But maybe there was still time! He exited his Pokeball quickly and looked around. Memory Card was still on the field. Battery leaned on Yokiro's foot and watched.  
"Swift!" called Yokiro. Electrode used Swift. Onix was knocked down.  
"Tackle him while he's down!" shouted Yokiro. Electrode complied. Onix stood up but started rocking back and forth.  
"Again!" shouted Yokiro. "Swift!" Electrode used Swift and Yokiro ordered him to use Light Screen. Onix roared and fell to the ground, blinded.  
"Don't get lazy!" yelled Yokiro. "He can still attack! Tackle, Memory Card!" Onix stopped moving. Yokiro watched. After a few seconds, Onix stirred. He got up completely and roared again. Yokiro looked down and saw little Battery standing next to him.  
"Memory Card, return!" he shouted. Then, he whispered to Battery, "Are you strong enough yet?" The little Pikachu nodded determinedly.  
"Pika!" he said.  
"Go, Battery!" bellowed Yokiro. Battery ran onto the field and used Quick Attack. Onix collapsed and stopped moving again. Battery waited.  
Presently, the announcer shouted, "Onix is unable to battle! Pikachu-- " But Onix wasn't finished yet. He stood up, his eyes half-closed and staring at little Battery. Battery looked nervous. Onix slowly lumbered around and moved his head close to Battery's. He stared him in the face for a long while. Then, he blew. Battery went tumbling backward. He fell down and then stood up. Onix made a sound that sounded like a snort.  
"Quick Attack!" said Yokiro. "He's weak! We're going to win!" Battery used Quick Attack. Onix's great head fell on the floor and he fainted. The audience cheered. Yokiro grinned.  
"Good job, Battery, Memory Card," he congratulated his Pokemon. The announcer started talking, but Yokiro ignored him. He was very annoying. Yokiro wondered who invented announcers, anyway!  
Brock walked over to him and nodded. He wasn't smiling. He thrust out his hand, and in it was the Boulder Badge. Yokiro forced a smile and took the badge and a TM that Brock also gave him. Not that he would be using it. He only used electric Pokemon. He walked out of the Gym.  
Once outside, he headed to the Pokemart so that he could sell the TM to the man there. The man greeted Yokiro and asked how he could help him. Yokiro snorted. As if the clerks ever said anything else. He walked to the counter, trying to look strict. He knew that if he let the clerk decide how much he wanted to pay, he would be ripped off, so he didn't give him the chance. He stated his price and waited.  
"No," said the clerk bluntly after three boring minutes of waiting. "I won't buy it for more than 400¶." (I can't find the symbol they use in the game to show money, so I'm using this.) Yokiro knew that he wouldn't get anywhere by trying to negotiate.  
"Fine. I'll go sell it to an intelligent person, then," was all Yokiro said, and he started out of the door.  
"Wait!" shouted the shopkeeper. "I'll but it! Just a little less, though! Say--" but Yokiro cut him off.  
"I don't think so. Your manipulative skills aren't as good as you think they are. My price is 550¶. Take it or leave it. You do want this TM, don't you?" Yokiro didn't like the shopkeepers. Any of them. They were stupid, cheating losers. He took delight in annoying them. The shopkeepers face was turning red now.  
"Fine then!" he spat angrily. "Take your stupid money, give me the product and GET OUT! Out, I say! Get out of my shop! I never want to see you again! OUT!" The shopkeeper had stood up and walked over to Yokiro. He grabbed the TM out of Yokiro's hands and threw the money onto the ground at his feet. Yokiro calmly picked up the money.  
"No, I don't think I'll go yet. I have some things I need to buy first. Hmmm. . ." He walked around the shop for a while, pretending to be interested in the merchandise on the shelves. Finally, he decided to buy two Potions, an Escape Rope, and a Max Revive. He took the Potions and Escape Rope off of the shelves and bought them.  
"You wouldn't happen to have a Max Revive, would you?" Yokiro asked. "I really need one," he added. He knew the shopkeeper wouldn't have any, but he wanted to make him angrier.  
"No, I wouldn't have that. I'll order it and it'll be here in. . ." He typed something on his computer. Then he turned back to Yokiro.  
"A week. Week too long for you?" he asked.  
"Actually, I needed it today," said Yokiro in a long-suffering voice. "I suppose that wouldn't be possible though, will it?" The shopkeeper's face was even redder than before now.  
"Well," he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking with rage, "I could make it a special order and it would be here in a matter of minutes, if that wouldn't be too long."  
"That sounds good!" said Yokiro in a feigned cheerful voice. The shopkeeper was about to explode. He scribbled something in pencil on a piece of paper. The pencil point broke. The shopkeeper said a word I can't repeat, and snapped the pencil in half with his fingers. He threw it at the wall at the opposite end of the shop and grabbed a pen. He continued his scribbling, and then scanned it on his computer. He typed a few keys, and then clicked the mouse. The computer made a long beeping sound, and the shopkeeper turned to Yokiro.  
"It'll be here in a few minutes," he said. "Happy now?" he asked. Yokiro nodded and took out his laptop. It took him only a few minutes to hack into the shop's computer. He changed all of the prices of the items to ridiculously low prices, like 5¶, 10¶, 4¶, and 6¶. He chuckled to himself. He was setting up the shopkeeper's computer so that it wouldn't make him any profit right under the stupid man's nose! But he also set it not to occur until 10:00 that night, so that Yokiro wouldn't be present. He would probably be breaking in to Giovanni's place by then. He jumped.  
He still had to round up a few of his friends and get to Viridian Forest! He looked at his watch. He had ten minutes before he had to meet Nathan. He logged on to his instant messenger service and sent out messages to some of his friends, including one that had once worked for Team Rocket because Giovanni had used Mewtwo's psychic powers to force him to.  
15 minutes later, Yokiro and six others were running to Viridian Forest. When they got there, Yokiro called Nathan's name. There was no response. He walked farther into the Forest and called again. This time, there was a rustling in the trees and Nathan, along with Bulbasaur and Treecko, fell out of the canopy of trees and landed in front of Yokiro, who was in the lead.  
"Hello, Yokiro," said Nathan, smiling slightly. "Is this our break in party?"  
"Bulbasaur!" said Bulbasaur, jumping on Nathan's head.  
"Yes," said Yokiro. He pointed to a tall blond boy who was holding a green Pokeball tightly.  
"This is Mark. And these are George, Jordan, Roy, the other George, and Jamie." Yokiro pointed to each person as he said his name. George had brown hair and was pale. He was shivering a lot and he coughed. He had dark brown eyes. Roy looked exactly the same, except he was a little less pale and wasn't coughing or shivering. Jordan had dark brown hair and serious dark green eyes. He was strong and had a long, red scar going down the right side of his face.  
"The other" George was shorter than Yokiro and he looked younger too. He had black hair and blue eyes. He also had a ridiculous grin on his face.  
Jamie was short and stout. He had a sneer on his face and a tattoo of a skull on both of his muscular arms. His eyes were red and he was pale. Nathan assumed he was an albino. He looked mean. Yokiro started speaking.  
"George and Roy are identical twins, obviously, and George has a cold, so stay away from him." He winked at George. "We call Roy 'Fred' because if you've read the Harry Potter books or seen the movie, Fred and George are identical twins. Jordan's nickname is 'Scar' because of that nasty scar on his cheek. The other George is called Georgie because otherwise it would get confusing. You know, with two Georges." Yokiro leaned close to Nathan and whispered, "He's kind of dim, so. . .you know."  
"And last, but certainly not least, we call Jamie 'Devil' because of his red eyes. He's an albino. Obviously," he added. He leaned in and whispered again, "At least, he thinks we call him that because he's an albino. Really, we call him that because he's *mean*. Try to avoid him, and if you can't, don't try to be brave and stick up to him. It'll only result in you being beaten into the ground. I only brought him along because he's strong."  
"What're you whisperin' about, Yokey?" boomed Jamie, or Devil. "It's not nice to tell secrets! If he can hear it, we can all hear it! Come on, tell us!"  
"Nothing," said Yokiro in a fake cheerful voice. "Anyway, you guys already know! I told you a few days ago, remember?"  
"Are you tryin' 'o dupe me?" said Devil, squinty-eyed. "'Cause if you are. . .hmm. . .I don't know *what* I'm gonna do with ya!"  
"Oh, come on guys! I told you a few days ago!" said Yokiro, shifting uneasily despite his cheerful manner. "If I tell you, you'll go 'oh yeah, I remember that'!"  
"If that's what's gonna happen, Yokey, why don'cha tell us!" said Devil, his red eyes squinting even smaller. His chubby hands were balling into fists. Nathan decided to answer for him, and stepping forward, he said, "I'll tell you what he said, *Devil*! He said you think that they call you Devil because of your red eyes, but they really call you that because--" Scar's dark green eyes were concerned, and behind Devil's head, he was shaking his own very quickly. He mouthed, "Don't go there!" Nathan ignored him, smiling.  
"Because you're mean. Because you act like the Devil himself. That right?" he looked to Yokiro's companions for confirmation. George and Roy nodded uneasily as Devil turned around. Scar nodded firmly, his mouth tight, but Nathan and Yokiro noticed a slight twinkle in his eye, as if to some unknown joke. For a moment, Devil looked confused, unsure of himself. Then he looked almost hurt. Nathan nearly felt sorry for him.  
"All right, what's the joke?" demanded Devil. This time, Scar stepped in. He tapped on Devil's shoulder and Devil turned around angrily.  
"Whaddaya want now, Scar?" he bellowed. Scar remained calm.  
"Now when I say this, I think I'm speaking for everyone. I think we've all had just as much as we can take, Devil, and it's time to stop pushing everyone around. You don't have to be a bully. It's a choice you make, and you've made the wrong decision. But it's not too late. Am I right so far?" Scar turned to the rest of the gang. They all nodded solemnly, so Scar continued.  
"Just because you're a year older than all of us except for Georgie, who you're two years older than, doesn't mean that you can push us around. We're all just at the end of our strings. The message I'm trying to get across in a polite way is, back off!  
"We're just as smart as you. What makes you think you're any better than us? We can take care of ourselves. We don't need your help. We have our rights, and you have yours. One of ours is to walk around doing whatever we're doing without worrying about you breathing down our necks, ready to beat us up every time you get the urge. And your rights, I'm afraid, don't include clobbering us whenever you want. I think you get the point by now. Got it?"  
Devil considered for a minute. Then, he got very angry. He bellowed in rage.  
"Devil. . ." said Scar warningly. But Devil paid no heed. He tried to strike Scar with his right arm, but Scar lifted a hand and grabbed Devil's wrist. Devil screamed again. He tried to punch Scar in the stomach with his left hand, but Scar grabbed that too. Devil head butted Scar in the chest and Scar gritted his teeth, but didn't say anything.  
"LISTEN TO ME, YOU PUNY LITTLE FREAK!" shouted Devil, yanking free of Scar's grasp. "If you think you can talk to me like that, THEN THINK AGAIN! NOW GET AWAY FROM ME!"  
Yokiro whispered to Nathan, "Scar's the only one who can stand up to Devil without being hospitalized, or even getting a scratch for that matter."  
"I noticed," said Nathan. Meanwhile, the fight between Scar and Devil had turned into a real battle. They were trading blows a thousand a minute.  
Finally, Scar stepped back from Devil (who was still fighting with the air) and said, "Enough." Devil stared.  
"This isn't the way to settle this. Fighting, I mean. Now Devil, you can stop beating up on people right now, or you can turn your butt around and get out of the Forest. The rest of us have things to do; places to break into. Now *choose*."  
"You can't tell me what to do!" screamed Devil madly. "I will stay right here! You know what, no I won't! I changed my mind! I'm going to go straight to the police and tell them about this! You'll be arrested! HA!" He pulled a Pokeball out of his pocket and threw it as hard as he could at Scar. Scar reached up with one hand and, with a loud cracking noise, caught the Pokeball, which was starting to open. The Pokeball fell apart in Scar's hand and he stepped back as a Machop came out.  
"Machop!" it said, looking around.  
"CHOP, MACHOP!" shouted Devil. "You criminal! You broke my Pokeball! I should have you arrested!" he screamed at Scar.  
"It was self defense," said Scar calmly. "You threw it at me. It could've broken my nose. You go to the police. See what they care. See what they care about a fat, stupid, bullying loser like you who abuses people and then gets mad at them for standing up to you instead of cowering from your mighty power like you, in your ignorance, expected them to. See what they care." Devil was getting mightily angry. Scar calmly leaned on a tree. Devil charged at him. Scar waited until the last moment before Devil hit him, and moved aside. There was a thump as Devil's head hit the tree. Devil groaned and collapsed.  
"Come on," said Scar. "We've got to clean him up and get him out of here. Does anyone know where there would be water?"  
"There's a stream nearby," said Nathan. "Come on!" He led them through the Forest until they found the stream, Scar hauling Devil's bulky form along. When they got there, Scar removed Devil's shirt. He made a face and George held his nose. Scar dipped the shirt into the water and dabbed at Devil's bleeding head with it. When the blood was gone, he used the dry half of the shirt to wipe his head dry. Then, he put the wet part on Devil's forehead. Devil groaned, and Scar dropped the shirt. He splashed water from the stream on Devil's face. Devil's eyes opened. He sat up.  
"Hey! Where's my shirt?" he said. He was still weak from crashing into the tree. Scar wordlessly picked up Devil's shirt and handed it to him. He grabbed it away, ripping the material slightly. He put it on, and George came closer and let go of his nose.  
"Go home," said Scar shortly. "You're not coming with us." Devil stood up unsteadily, and started to retort, but remembered what had happened only a few minutes ago when he had messed with Scar, and stopped. He stood up, defeated, and walked away. Nathan said, "I'll watch him," and climbed into the trees. There was a rustling sound, and he was gone.  
Yokiro and his friends besides Nathan heard yelling, and Scar went after Devil to investigate. He found Devil screaming at his Machop to make him come with him. The Machop just wanted to look around.  
"Devil!" said Scar exasperatedly. "What I said before goes for Pokemon, too! Not just humans." Again, Devil looked ready to retort, but held back, remembering his sore head and what had caused it. He let the Machop look around for a few minutes, and then they left.  
Nathan had watched the whole thing, and he followed Devil from above to make sure he left the Forest. He walked into Pewter City and Nathan watched as he walked away. Satisfied, he went back to the group.  
When he arrived, Scar said, "Ok, listen up! Giovanni used to have the legendary Pokemon Mewtwo. He doesn't anymore. Mewtwo had psychic powers, obviously, and Giovanni took advantage of that by making him use those powers to turn me into a member of Team Rocket. Basically, he used the powers to force me to do his bidding. I escaped. But I still remember some stuff about his place. He thought I'd never escape, so he showed me secret places, because while I was in Mewtwo's powers, I couldn't betray him or anything like that. And I escaped."  
Scar picked up a stick and started making a map in the ground. He carved the dirt for a few minutes, and then looked up. He pointed to different places on the map.  
"This is the entrance. We just have to get past the guards, and then we're in. Of course, it won't be that easy, because he's got cameras and such. And the guards are well trained and have powerful Pokemon. Yokiro's going to hack into their system and disable them. They're bound to notice within a few minutes. So meanwhile, we'll stage a distraction at the other end of the building so they don't get suspicious. Once we're in, we'll follow *this* hall" he pointed to another part of the map "until we reach here. Then, run through here at *top speed*, because this is the dangerous part. Now, see that mark at the end of the hallway? That's the door. It'll take us into Giovanni's office.  
"Once we're in, we'll figure it out from there. I don't know what we can do, though. I mean, charge in there and tell him 'don't knock down Viridian Forest or else'? Hmm. . ." He stopped talking. Nathan had an idea.  
"How about we just break in to show him that we know what he's doing, and warn him to abandon his plan? And then we wait until the day they're going to do it and stop them. Like attack their machines or whatever they're using so they can't do anything. I don't know. Never mind."  
"We'll be outnumbered by a lot," said Yokiro, looking up from his typing. "I'm trying to find out more, so I hacked in there again. They're hiring a whole force of Scisor, *and* they're using machines. Can't be good. Although I don't know how they're going to pull it off, because everyone for miles around is going to see them as soon as they start. They'll be lots of police for--" he paused, turning pale. His hands started shaking and he took them off of the keyboard.  
"Uh-oh," he said. "Oh no. . .Oh no. No no no."  
"What?" said George. "What's wrong?" Yokiro turned the computer around to face him.  
"See for yourself," he said, still pale. George bent down to see what was onscreen, looking confused. Then he turned paler than before. He read out loud.  
"'Two hours beforehand, the local police forces of Pewter City, Viridian City, Pallet Town, and Cinnabar Island will have all weapons disabled and Pokemon collected and captured by my forces. 15 Hypno, three for each town, will hypnotize the police officers so that they will fall asleep, and if they regain consciousness, my men will knock them out again.  
"'While this is happening, the Scisor force will be prepared to knock down the forest, and we will force the police's Pokemon to protect the valuable Scisor and machinery. They will also scare all Pokemon Trainers and travelers out of the Forest, and then steal their Pokemon. The Scisor will strip the trees of their branches, while a team of Machop will collect the branches and pile them up outside the Forest. Two waiting Charizard will burn the branches and spread the ashes so there is no evidence of them having been there. The Charizard and Scisor will leave, while another team of Machop will enter the Forest to help the existing team.  
"'As this all happens, the machinery required to cut down the trees will be prepared and brought to the Forest to start. As soon as the second team of Machop is prepared and the Charizard and Scisor are moved out, the machinery will start cutting. The Machop will collect the fallen tree and pile them up onto a large truck, which will carry them back to my existing base to be prepared for use in building my new base. The Machop will uproot all remaining stumps and remove debris, to clear off the land for building my base.  
"'As soon as the clearing of the Forest is complete, the Machop will be moved out and the builders will start working. No time is to be wasted, because should anyone find out about my plan or there are traitors in the midst, then the plan will be ruined. As soon as the builders have the main frame of the building ready, we will mount cameras and other security devices on the building, as well as in the helicopters above. We will swiftly move in strong Pokemon to keep intruders away so that the building process will finish sooner.  
"'This will continue for as long as it takes to build the place. I have hired the quickest builders, and offered them great amounts of money to make them even quicker. If the building process is done too slowly or too sloppily, the builders will be punished. They are sworn to secrecy about this project, on pain of death.  
"'As the building takes place, more security systems will be steadily moved into the building, and the walls will be wired. Eventually, we will put in all of the computers as well. When the building is complete, it will take two days to move the rest of the equipment in, as well as buying new equipment that we will need. This base will be far better, more secure, and more powerful than ever before. The date we will start the building process is January 1st, 2004.'" It was December 24th, 2003. 


End file.
